Just minutes west of Asheville, off Exit 44 of Interstate 40, The Rock Church sits on Monte Vista Road in Candler. The church has called this stretch of Buncombe County home since 1997, when Pastors Kirk and Suzette Bowman moved the congregation onto property they could finally call their own. Today, the church is known throughout Western North Carolina for its single, well-paced Sunday morning service, a contemporary style of worship with lyrics on the screen, strong children's and student ministries, and a Christ-centered recovery ministry that meets every Monday night.
Sundays at the Rock
The Rock Church gathers for one Sunday morning service at 10:15 a.m., and the doors of the main auditorium swing into action well before that. Pre-service prayer begins at 9:45 a.m. and is open to anyone who wants to join. The service itself typically runs about an hour and twenty minutes and follows a straightforward pattern: songs of praise and worship with lyrics projected on large screens, a practical teaching from the Bible meant to speak to daily life, and a time during which people can give through tithes and offerings. Children are dismissed to Rock Kids during the service, and fifth and sixth graders are invited to their own Rock Youth Intermediate class in room 308 at a designated point in the gathering.
For those who cannot attend in person, the service is livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook, so the same Sunday morning can be experienced from a living room, a hospital room, or a hotel room anywhere with an internet connection. Recent messages are archived on YouTube and are also available as a podcast on Spotify, so anyone who missed a Sunday can catch up later in the week.
The fashion at The Rock is what the church itself describes as "trendy with a sharp but casual lean." Suits and ties are rare, and so are bare feet and gym shorts. Blouses, polos, khakis, jeans, high heels, Birkenstocks, beards, smooth shaves, and the occasional tattoo all fit right in.
From a Days Inn to Monte Vista Road
The story of The Rock Church began in 1989 with five hundred dollars, a small sound system, a newspaper advertisement, and a Days Inn meeting room. Twenty-seven people showed up for that first service. Within a year, the group had grown to sixty and moved to an office park on Tunnel Road, where they stayed for six months and through one expansion before overflowing with 180 people.
In 1991, the church relocated to Turtle Creek Shopping Center in South Asheville and spent seven years there, going through six expansions along the way. By the time attendance reached 400, the Bowmans began searching for land to build. They found it on Monte Vista Road, just outside West Asheville, and held the first service on the new property in the fall of 1997. Attendance doubled almost immediately. About a year and a half later, the church added the Annex to house children's ministry, student ministry, Celebrate Recovery, and Rock Groups. In 2019, the congregation marked thirty years of ministry, and the church continues to grow into the property and the community.
Pastors Kirk and Suzette Bowman met in Bible college, married, and after eight years together moved to Asheville to plant the church. Kirk is described as uplifting and encouraging, with a passion for pointing people to Jesus; he has had the opportunity to minister in more than twenty nations, but he counts The Rock as his favorite place to be. Suzette is described as the heart of the church, a worshiper and an inspiration whose love for people leaves a trail of blessing and fun. Their Cajun roots also mean a deep love for great food and the perfect cappuccino.
What the Church Believes
The Rock Church is deliberately non-denominational. As the staff puts it, "Outside of our adherence to the Bible's model, we are not affiliated with a particular denomination. We love Jesus. We love the Bible. We are protestant, encouraging each believer to connect to God through prayer and scriptures." The church calls itself progressive in methodology but passionately committed to biblical truth.
Among the core doctrines listed by the church are belief in one God who exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the full deity, virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension, and return of Jesus Christ; the Bible as the infallible, authoritative, and everlasting Word of God; the spiritually lost state of all people and the essential need for the new birth by faith in Jesus; the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, who distributes fruit and gifts to build Christ-like character and empower ministry; the sacraments of the Lord's Supper and baptism by full immersion; the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; and the church as the body of Christ, with each member playing an active part in fulfilling the Great Commission.
Rock Kids: Birth Through Fourth Grade
Rock Kids is the children's ministry of The Rock Church and serves everyone from infants through fourth grade during the Sunday morning service. Trained, background-checked volunteers lead children in age-appropriate lessons built around video Bible stories, worship, activities, crafts, and time to run and play in an indoor play structure the church calls Adventure Rock.
Safety is built into the check-in process. When a family arrives, a volunteer gives each child a unique name tag sticker and gives the matching sticker to the parent or guardian. To pick up a child after service, the adult simply presents that sticker to the teacher. The church prefers that children attend Rock Kids while adults remain in the main auditorium, and notes that both groups grow in faith at the same time.
Rock Youth: Fifth Through Twelfth Grade
Rock Youth meets students where they are, with two distinct programs that overlap in philosophy.
The intermediate program is for fifth and sixth graders and begins at 10:15 a.m. on Sundays in the main worship space. Students worship with the whole church family and then are dismissed to room 308 for their own time. The class opens with a fun game, then moves into a message prepared by one of the church's teachers, focused on kingdom disciplines and building on God's Word. After the lesson, students stay in the room until a parent or guardian picks them up.
The middle and high school program is for students in seventh through twelfth grade. These students meet the second and fourth Sunday of each month from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the rear annex of the campus. The first thirty minutes are spent in Adventure Rock, a combination of games, food, and friends. After that, the group dives into a message about the truths of following Jesus, then breaks into small groups divided by gender to apply those truths to daily life. Pickup is at 2:00 p.m. in the rear parking lot.
On Wednesday nights at 6:30 p.m., Rock Youth also meets for games, worship, a youth-focused message, and small groups. The youth ministry has its own social presence on Facebook (RockYouthStudents) and Instagram (rock_yth).
Celebrate Recovery Every Monday Night
Every Monday night, the church building opens for Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered program for anyone struggling with hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. for fellowship and connection, and the service begins at 7:00 p.m. The church emphasizes anonymity, confidentiality, and personal responsibility, and notes that Celebrate Recovery is for far more than alcoholics and addicts. People find freedom from anger, insecurity, addiction, anxiety, depression, codependency, food issues, grief, low self-esteem, gambling, sexual addiction, self-harm, and other struggles.
The program is free and open to adults eighteen and older, and attendees do not need to be members of The Rock Church to participate. The church even has a dedicated Facebook page (RockChurchAVLCR) and a designated giving fund through its online giving portal, so supporters can give specifically to this ministry.
Rock Groups and First Wednesday Prayer
Small group life at The Rock happens through Rock Groups, which meet in homes, restaurants, coffee shops, and on the church campus at various times throughout the week. Each group has its own personality, but the shared purpose is the same: to connect people to Jesus, to his church, and to each other. Some groups study a specific book together. Others are interest-based gatherings centered on food, fellowship, or shared life stages. Most groups meet twice a month; some meet weekly. Many run for a semester (about three months), which makes it easy for newcomers to jump in at natural starting points. Several times a year the church hosts church-wide studies in which every group participates at once, and seasonally the church offers topical classes on topics like parenting or the basics of the Christian faith. Anyone interested in finding or hosting a group can do so through the Church Center platform, and questions can be sent to groups@rockofasheville.com.
First Wednesday Prayer is a monthly gathering at 6:30 p.m. focused on church-wide unity. Rock Youth participates in this service, and childcare is provided for children four years old and under.
Local Outreach Across Western North Carolina
Generosity is one of the ten core values of the church, and a significant portion of that generosity flows outward to the surrounding region. The Rock Church supports several partner ministries financially and through volunteer service.
Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (ABCCM) is supported with regular giving and volunteer hours. ABCCM unites local churches to minister to people in need through crisis support, shelter, medical services, and prison services. On the first Wednesday of every month, Rock Church volunteers pack four hundred food bags for Sand Hill-Venable Elementary School, dropping off one hundred of those bags each week for students who need food over the weekend. Black Mountain Home for Children, a faith-based organization serving children from birth through college who have suffered abuse, neglect, or abandonment, is supported with finances and volunteer time. Ascend Women's Center, which aids women, teens, and families impacted by unplanned pregnancies, receives support through volunteering, finances, and annual fundraisers. The church also partners with CARING for Children, an organization that serves more than five hundred children and families annually through housing, foster care, and other programs.
Missions Around the World
The Rock Church takes seriously the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20 and partners with leaders and churches in several regions of the world. In Nicaragua, the church has served for more than a decade, primarily in the impoverished community of Los Brasiles, where it partnered with Imagine Ministry and Coburn Murray to build a community center facility and run a child sponsorship program. More recently, the church expanded its reach through El Taller Del Maestro (Jesus' Workshop) and an in-house missionary, Dilcia Gamero, who serves smaller communities in the northern remote areas of Nicaragua, including El Jicaro, Ocotal, and indigenous communities along the Rio Coco River bordering Honduras.
The Bowmans also support Ian Green, who ministers across unreached areas of Europe, helping invest in young native church leaders, and they send teams to Poiana, Romania to assist a church plant and reach out to the community. Globally, the church partners with David Shibley of Global Advance, an organization recognized for equipping native leaders across the globe.
Giving, Serving, and Getting Connected
Giving is offered three ways at The Rock. Online giving is available through the Church Center platform at rockofasheville.churchcenter.com/giving, where givers can set up one-time or recurring gifts. The same Church Center app, available under "The Rock Church," lets people give from a phone and stay current on events and Rock Groups. In services, attendees can give by cash, check, or credit card using tithe envelopes provided at the church.
Volunteers are central to everything that happens on the campus. The church runs nine volunteer teams: Hospitality, Creative, Safety, Rock Kids, Rock Groups, Local Outreach, Rock Youth, Care Ministries, and Landscaping. Hospitality team members serve as greeters, ushers, café workers, and parking lot attendants. The Creative team covers worship, audio, photography, and graphic design. The Safety team handles security and first aid. Care Ministries includes prayer, meal teams, counseling, and Celebrate Recovery support.
For those who want to learn more about the church before stepping through the doors, Starting Point is a regular gathering where newcomers hear the church's history, meet staff and volunteers, and learn about serving, Rock Groups, and what comes next. Anyone can connect with the church through the online form, and a free electronic newsletter keeps readers up to date on what is happening. New believers are encouraged to download the YouVersion Bible app for their phone.
What First-Time Visitors Can Expect
Greeters welcome visitors as they arrive, and volunteers are ready to help families find their way to the worship space, the children's wing, or the youth rooms. The church sits just outside of Asheville, with simple directions from Exit 44 off Interstate 40: turn right off the exit, right onto Acton Circle just before McDonald's, then right at the light onto Monte Vista Road. The entrance is on the left, about seven tenths of a mile down the road. There is no dress code beyond the casual-but-put-together feel of the regulars, and families with infants through high schoolers will find a place for every member of the household.